“Wait for Daddy,” my daughter cautions. “No, we don’t need to wait girlfriend. We can fix it just as well as Daddy can.” We are sitting in the middle of our living room, the vacuum upside down, parts surrounding us, watching a tutorial video on my iPhone and following along so we can repair our broken vacuum.
Those who know me from long ago know that about ten years ago, a salesman convinced me that I could install a new toilet myself. Long story short (and a broken bowl and minor flood later), I did it. I have recently laid a new bathroom floor and singlehandedly packed up most of our house in a week to stage our home for selling. So I have been feeling capable.
My daughter and I had to buy a new vacuum yesterday because ours suddenly stopped sucking. I put the “old” one in the garage and she asked me what we were going to do with it. Usually I just want those kind of things to be gone; out of sight, out of mind. However, the thought of it sitting in a landfill forever really bothered me. My daughter said maybe we could give it to someone who could fix it and that got me thinking. We found a YouTube video on Dyson repair and followed the steps, taking it apart until we found the clog (a few stickers and a wooden piece of window blind cord).
I love that she sees me being resourceful, that she likes tools, that she likes to help me. I am so proud that I am showing her what we women are capable of.
Sadie and I are so proud of you girls!!! It is so wonderful to teach your daughter how to be resourceful and “not give up” when something gets complicated. You are a great Mama!
Thank you, Celani!
Nice work Mama! I am pretty much the farthest thing from resourceful myself and am probably not setting a very good example for Rio, deferring all that kind of stuff to her dad! I’ll just blame my parents 😉
I love this post and agree that Hannah is truly blessed to have you as her first teacher. Your writing and your actions are an inspiration!
You should consider teaching courses for self-sufficient women to learn how to do stuff around the house. The only thing I can do is replace a light bulb, though that’s probably cause I’ve never had to do anything. I may learn when I’m living on my own and something breaks, since I most likely won’t have enough money to pay someone else to do it. I’ll drop by your blog and ask you for advise when that happens 🙂
Sounds good to me. You can do it!
Hannah is one fortunate little girl to have you as her first teacher!
I’m so impressed, Naomi, and even more so that you were able to install your own toilet and put in a new floor! I may need you to teach my son all the things that women can do. 🙂
You go!!!! Hannah is indeed going to thrive! I will look to you for inspiration this June when I attempt to redo my bathroom.
I can hear you roar from here!
I think it is great that you are resourceful and determined. Children learn best from example. You are setting the stage for a confident daughter to shine.
Thank you, my dear. I’m so sorry I missed most of yesterday’s discussion. Going to read today, hopefully! I miss class already.